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Espanyol – Barcelona Prediction Betting Tips 04-02-2018

4th February 2018 · 0 Comments

Prediction : Over 2.5 at 1.60 with MarathonBet
This is the third Barcelona derby of 2018 already and if the first two are anything to go by, it’s likely to be a feisty clash. Espanyol got under the skins of their illustrious rivals by heavily celebrating their 1-0 win in the 1st Leg of the Copa del Rey Quarter-Final last month. Barcelona still progressed but disparaging remarks from the likes of Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets about their rivals following that one will ensure there is another red hot RCDE Stadium atmosphere here.

Barcelona will have half an eye on their Copa del Rey Semi-Final 2nd Leg in Valencia next week, with only a 1-0 lead to take into that tie but it’s still likely to be a stronger side than the one that lost at Espanyol a few weeks back. On current form it’s hard to look past the visitors bagging all the points.

They’ve been a class above everyone else in La Liga this term and another title win now looks inevitable. Barca have dropped just 6 points all season and are yet to taste defeat in the league under Ernesto Valverde. They average 2.64 points per away game and have more strength in depth now following a few January additions, so they should be able to cope with this busy schedule.

As for Espanyol, it is worth noting they’ve responded to that victory over Barcelona by losing all of their three matches since. That includes a 3-0 home defeat to Sevilla in La Liga and sitting down in 14th place, they aren’t exactly having a great season overall. Their league record against their city rivals is also dreadful so it’s hard to look past the visitors here.

We shouldn’t necessarily expect a goal-fest though. Espanyol are pretty organised and 180 minutes of cup action between these sides produced just 3 goals in total last month. 91% of their home games and 82% of Barcelona away games this term have seen under 3.5 goals scored so backing Barcelona & Under 3.5 Goals looks like a decent bet here.

Backing Draw/Barcelona HT/FT also looks very good and the stats strongly back that up. Barcelona have scored 71% of their league goals after the interval this term and surprisingly they’ve only managed four goals in the 1st Half on their travels. They’ve also conceded four away in the 1st Half but have come ridiculously strong after the break, netting 24 and conceding just once in 11 away matches.

Going for Luis Suarez to score anytime also looks good. He’s netted in 10 of his last 11 appearances.